More Than You and I
by teshara
Summary: RomanceHorror, SSHG, Years after the war Hermione and Severus have settled into a life together. They have had to overcome hardships and come to terms with things they believe are set in stone. Nothing, however, is set in stone.
1. Default Chapter

More Than You and I

"Hermione, I think you'd better come down to St. Mungo's."

Hermione Granger-Snape peered at the disembodied head in her kitchen fire. It blinked.

Neville looked much older than his 37 years. His hair had started going white while he was still at Hogwarts and now it was completely white, though it had never thinned out. He wore gold rimmed spectacles now. Partially from hours reading healing texts and partially from retinal damaged he had received during the Battle of Hogsmede, when Voldemort fell.

"Is something wrong Neville?" Hermione asked. Piles of parchments were piled over her kitchen table. She was wearing her work robes, but she was still wearing pink bunny slippers. "They're expecting me at the Ministry in half an hour."

"Say it was Ministry business," Neville said, adjusting his glasses nervously. He had started doing that when he got them. "Technically, it is. We can owl Madame Bones and tell her you're already on your way."

Hermione gestured at the piles of parchments.

"And this will finish itself, will it?" Hermione asked testily. "I do work there, you know."

"We've had a breakthrough with the DNA research," Neville said crossly. "I wouldn't have floo'd if it wasn't important."

Hermione stared at him for a moment.

"Have you found a magical gene?" she asked.

"No," Neville said, shaking his head. "Something completely different. Quite on accident."

Hermione raised an eyebrow that reminded Neville of his old Professor, Snape. That would make sense since Severus Snape and Hermione were married seven years ago. It was a strange look on Hermione. Kind of attractive, really.

"Give me a half hour," Hermione sighed.

Neville beamed and disappeared with a small wooshing sound.

Hermione looked at the parchments piled on the table and shook her head. She waved her wand at the piles and they shrunk down and tucked themselves into a small scroll case. Lord only knew how long this was going to take her.

Hermione jotted a quick note to Severus about Neville's discovery and her whereabouts, tucked it between her lips, and fished under her reading chair in the den for her shoes. She looked at the scuffed leather and absentmindedly thought about giving them a quick polish later.

Hermione looked at her hair in a mirror above the fireplace and frowned. It was a wonder Neville hadn't lost his composure. It must actually be something important.

Hermione pointed her wand at her head and muttered a charm that would bind it back and secure it.

The heels of her shoes made a solid clicking noise as she walked through the kitchen. She rinsed out her juice glass on her way to the downstairs pantry. As she placed a hand firmly on a panel marked with a red 'X' she heard a click. The door then slid easily open.

She walked down the wooden covered steel stairs, small candles lighting themselves as she descended so that she might find her way safely. They were so dim, however it was mostly pointless.

"Bloody, morose, git," Hermione muttered as she waved a hand and the light rose to a reasonable level.

The walls were lined with jarred and canned goods. Christmas decorations were boxed and labeled on tall shelves. A foldaway table and chairs leaned against one wall. Hermione's destination was in the center of the room.

"Going to be late again," Hermione said to no one, since no one could hear her. "Not like you care."

Then she slapped the note down on a small table near Severus' coffin and started back to the kitchen. The lights dimmed behind her as she ascended the stairs.

From the quiet of the pantry one could hear a steel door slide into place and bars slide through the walls, holding it when the door closed behind her.


	2. 2

More Than You and I Chapter 2

Neville was waiting anxiously near the floo in the lobby for St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries for Hermione.

When she appeared he practically ran to meet her, his white robes flapping behind him. Hermione was abruptly reminded of every mad scientist movie she had ever seen.

The lobby of St. Mungo's was especially busy today, but the summer holidays had just begun. Children of Hogwarts age just couldn't resist showing off when they got home.

There was a reason there was a Restriction of Underage Wizardry, she thought as she passed a pair of boys, one with an inflated bottom lip, the other holding up his head because one of his ears was now the size of a small watermelon. Another girl blushed furiously as her mother flicked one of the large pink fairy wings sprouting from her back.

"Your brothers christening, nonetheless," the girl's mother fumed. "You nearly did your Aunt Pearl a mischief!"

"What's so important, Neville?" Hermione asked, her curiosity piqued. A short, balding wizard with a long grey beard walked by them clucking like a chicken. His wife led him by the arm and tried to prevent him from pecking things.

"Come on," Neville said, his voice low. He took her arm and steered her toward the Department of Experimental Research.

Hermione was startled. Neville was never usually this serious. He looked positively grim.

She walked quickly with him through the long corridors until they got to his usual workplace.

"Hello, Dennis," Hermione said as she walked into the laboratory. Dennis Creevy was swirling an orange liquid at the bottom of a beaker. It slowly turned sky blue. He smiled and put the beaker down.

"Hello, Hermione," Dennis asked. "How's the bat?"

"Hibernating," Hermione made a face.

"You really need to see this," Dennis said, motioning to a magical microscope. "It's incredible."

Hermione looked through the microscope. Then looked at Dennis impatiently.

"It's sperm, Dennis," Hermione said patiently. "Incredible. Groundbreaking, even."

"Perform an Aura Complex charm on it," Colin said smugly.

An Aura Complex charm was usually used by Wizarding Law Enforcement to identify sexual offenders. It was a simple charm. Each person in the world carried a trace magical identifier, whether they were magical or not. Casting the charm was a type of color coded magical fingerprint. If an offender left behind something that glowed red and shot off small blue sparks and a suspect was found to have a glowing red aura with small blue sparks they knew they had the culprit. Unless he had a very close twin.

Hermione looked at Colin and preformed the charm at the small glass tray holding the specimen.

Nothing.

Hermione frowned. "What is this?"

"We ripped the DNA from it," Neville said proudly.

"What?" Hermione said, her voice barely a whisper.

"Ripped the DNA from it," Dennis said loudly.

"I heard him the first time," Hermione snapped.

Dennis backed off, both his hands up. "It really was an accident."

Hermione looked back through the microscope. To the naked eye they looked normal, swimming happily on a tray made specifically for them. In reality they belonged to no one.

"Can you impregnate someone with these?" Hermione asked.

"Funny you should ask," Neville said, still looking pleased. "The potion works on other things as well, like bits of hair or skin, much like polyjuice potion."

Hermione saw where this was going, fast. She felt the blood drain from her face.

"And we've found a way to reprogram the husk," Neville said excitedly. "Impregnate DNA back in from another source."

"I see," Hermione said weakly.

"So people that were infertile might be able to have children," Dennis said softly, placing a hand on Hermione's shoulder.

Right about then her knees folded and she hit the floor in a dead faint.

Neville looked at Dennis, one eyebrow quirked.

"Well, that didn't go as planned," Neville said.

"_Mobilis corpus_," Dennis said shrugging. Hermione rose in the air with his spell. "At least we're in a hospital."

&+&+

Hermione woke up in a small bed with scratchy sheets. She noticed her clothing had had replaced with a flimsy cotton robe that didn't seem to close in the back. Dennis and Neville were sitting in chairs nearby. A cloth partition was to her right. Something that smelled foul was on the other side of it.

"What happened?" Hermione asked.

"You fainted," Dennis said. "I didn't catch you."

Hermione felt the lump on the side of her head and winced.

"I'll call for a healer," Dennis said, rising. "I think she has a potion for you."

Neville nodded and Dennis walked through the door into the hallway.

"We need to talk more about this," Hermione said, shaking her head and motioning to the sheet. Neville nodded.

"We can hold a briefing tomorrow," Neville said. "How about 8? We can order breakfast in."

Hermione made a face at Neville. "Hardly breakfast talk, is it?"

"What about 9 then?" Neville said, snickering.

Hermione could hardly believe the boy who once was traumatized with a detention of frog disemboweling now went over autopsy reports during his lunch. For light reading material. The idea churned her stomach.

"Who should be there?" Hermione asked.

"Oh, the 'In' crowd," Neville said, lightly.

"Smashing," she said, smiling as the healer and Dennis returned. The entire High Council. They had realized its full potential then. Hopefully they were keeping it under lock and key.

&+&+

Hermione stepped into her kitchen from her fireplace. She had to stay extra late tonight to prepare a list of questions at tomorrow's briefing and the sun had gone down. She inhaled deeply and the smell of steak filled her nostrils. She smiled. The door to the pantry was open.

She was walking to the icebox when she felt a breeze behind her and suddenly she was enveloped in a black cloak. Arms held her tightly and she sighed.

"Do you ever tire of this game?" Hermione asked, tilting her head back. She saw a chin, a jaw line, and a bit of fang. His fangs were always extended when he woke up. They retracted slowly as he became more awake. They were about halfway out now.

"Never," a deep purr answered. Severus kissed her forehead. He loosened his grip on her and frowned at the bump on her head.

"What happened?"

Hermione sat down at the large wooden kitchen table as Severus checked on dinner. It was just the two of them, but there was a time when this table would be full of people going over plans and plotting against the Death Eaters. It was, after all, originally from the Black family residence.

Hermione told him about Neville insisting she meet him, then about his discovery.

"Severus, do you think it's too late to start a family?" Hermione asked. Her eyes looked like a cross between mournful and hopeful. She was afraid of the answer.

Severus sat next to Hermione, stunned.

They had been married a year after the Battle at Hogsmede. The battle in which he was killed.

No one had expected Voldemort to enlist the Vampires, nor force vampirism on unwilling Death Eaters. Snape had been the first to be taken. Malfoy the second. He wasn't sure who came after that.

Hermione and Snape had paired off a year before the last battle. When Snape was Taken Hermione had come to terms with the fact that she would never have his children. He came to terms with the fact that she would grow old and die and he would be a widower. He would never see his family line go on to regain dignity long lost.

He was still, would always be the Severus she remembered. At this point her age was gaining on his and she wondered what would happen when she was in her 80's and he still looked 55.

His black hair had begun graying at the temples. His skin was still as sallow as it ever was. To Hermione's surprise, small things did change. The small age spots winding their way over his forehead and over his hands had faded within a month of his Taking. His skin had smoothed out, although he had kept the small crow's feet in the corners of his eyes. His hair had become healthier and the nails that once looked a nightmare from handling potion ingredients now looked carefully manicured.

Dumbledore commented that Severus looked as he had never seen sorrow; his heart had never felt pain. He looked a picture of perfect health. The ideal people strive to achieve that so few do. Well, vampirism was one way to do it, Hermione supposed.

Hermione went on to explain how Neville and Dennis had found a way to impregnate sperm with 3rd party DNA.

Severus felt faint. Hermione took one of his cool hands in hers.

"They have no proof it will work with vampires," Hermione cautioned.

"But it might," Severus said. If he still had a heartbeat his heart would have been pounding in his chest.

"It might," Hermione said quietly.

"You find out everything you can at that meeting," Severus said, sitting up stiffly.

"I plan on it," Hermione said. Severus kissed her again and rose to retrieve her meal.

&+&+

Hermione had sat through the meeting with her folder of questions. Neville had eyed it warily and practically panicked as she fired off questions.

"Can someone get impregnated with a 'ripped' sperm?" Hermione asked.

"You mean an empty one?" Neville asked. "Now there's a question. I have no idea."

"Well, it's a dangerous question," Amelia Bones, Minister of Magic said sharply. "It's a foolproof way for rogue Death Eaters to increase their numbers."

"Magical cloning," Hermione said, looking at Neville sadly. Neville looked shocked. Hermione could tell the thought never crossed his mind.

"As of this moment, this experiment is Top Secret: Class A," Bones said brusquely. Neville looked startled.

"I want all your notes," Madame Bones said. "Any further research will be supervised by the Department of Mysteries."

Hermione watched Dennis' mouth drop open.

"You may continue to be a part of the project, of course," Bones continued. Dennis closed his mouth. "But you're going to have to move. Your location is alarmingly insecure."

She stood up quickly and nodded to a slim blonde witch taking notes. The witch stood and Madame Bones turned to Neville and Dennis.

"We'll be contacting you shortly. Be prepared to relocate."

Then the Minister and other important members of the Ministry shuffled out of the chamber.

"Well, I suppose we're out of pharmaceuticals for good," Neville said under his breath as the chamber emptied.

"I wonder if we'll get more pay," Dennis wondered aloud. Neville shrugged.

&+&+

Hermione got home earlier in the evening than she expected. Severus was still downstairs. She still had an hour of daylight.

She puttered around doing small things she never seemed to have time to do. She cleaned the dinner dishes that had never gotten cleaned the night before. She refolded the small towels hanging over the handle on the stove. She scrubbed the kitchen table with a stiff brush and rubbed in oil to make it shine.

She was just starting on the kitchen counters when the basement door slid open.

"Good evening," said Severus, yawning. He looked like a cat. "You're home early."

"I can't tell you anymore about the project," Hermione blurted out.

"Classified, is it?" Severus asked. Then he stared into her eyes abruptly. She was frozen to the spot.

Severus was already skilled in Occlumancy. Unfortunately, his vampyric talents only enhanced his abilities. She watched the meeting flash before her eyes. Suddenly she regained control of herself. Severus caught her as she stumbled forward.

"Stop that!" she yelled at him.

"Stop what?" Severus said innocently.

"Invasion of privacy," Hermione spluttered, shoving him away from her. "Violation of the mind!"

"I sneezed and lost control of my abilities," Severus said silkily. He folded his arms in front of himself.

Hermione stared at him for a moment. Then she began giggling. "You sneezed?"

"It could happen," Severus said lightly.

"You have to breathe to do that," Hermione pointed out.

"I still take in air from time to time. I sigh. I yawn," Severus pointed out.

"Purely from habit," Hermione snorted as she reached for her cleaning supplies.

"It still happens," Severus protested. "Why didn't you use magic for that?"

"I wanted to keep my hands busy," Hermione said, putting the supplies under the kitchen sink. "Anyway, that wasn't very nice."

"I didn't want to be responsible for your guilty conscience after I made you tell me," Severus said simply. "Anyway, that didn't tell me anything I might have guessed."

Hermione made a face at him. He was right, of course. He may take weeks or months, but he could wear her down. The information wasn't anything he couldn't have figured out. When she had first told him it wasn't classified. She should tell the Minister anyway. Severus was a competent Potions Master, well known in the Ministry. Perhaps she wouldn't be too angry.

"I am sorry," Severus said quietly. "I just- children-"

"I know," Hermione said. I had been something they had fought about before his change. He maintained that he was too old to start a family. That he had enough children to look after at Hogwarts. That he was afraid of what type of father he would be.

After the change, his body was not the only thing to change. He began looking at things differently.

For awhile he was completely self destructive, drinking alcohol although anything besides blood made him violently ill. Walking into burning buildings to save people, then obliviating all the witnesses. The blisters had taken a week to heal. He took to cliff diving, not nessisarily into anything besides trees and shrubberies.

That had annoyed Hermione.

"Could have gotten yourself killed," she had said as she pulled a sharp shard of broken branch out of his side. It squelched unpleasantly. "Impailing yourself. How romantic."

That was when he had proposed.

"Yes, idiot," she had replied as she had put the branch down and wiped her bloody hands down the front of her now soaked jeans.

He had to leave Hogwarts, of course, after his change. He came back for a lecture once a year with the Seventh Years, but didn't teach any longer.

Now that he had time to think, he regretted some of the decisions he made in the past. One was giving Hermione the child she had wanted. After she had been told of his change she had never mentioned children again. The one time he apologized for it, she had smiled stiffly and insisted there was no use being upset about things they couldn't undo. Then she had patted him on the knee and had locked herself in the bathroom.

She knew his hearing had been improved, but she had no idea that he heard her tears splashing on the linoleum. Heard her fingers dragging across the tile as she tried not to scream as her emotions flooded over her. He had never spoken of it again.

Now they might have another chance.

"I still don't think we should get our hopes up," Hermione said hesitantly. "If it is true."

Severus drew her into his arms and nuzzled her neck. She felt his teeth prick her slightly. She swooned slightly as the anti-coagulant his teeth secreted induced a slight euphoria.

"Severus," she tried to push him away, but he picked her up and sat her on the edge of the kitchen table.

"Tiny babies," he whispered in her ear. "Learning to walk and read and fly on a broom."

"Not all in one day, I hope," Hermione said, slightly giggly. She felt something poking the inside of her thigh, through her robes.

"One could assume not," Severus said, pulling her robes up. She kissed him on the cheek. "No underpants today?"

"It is your turn to do the laundry," Hermione said hotly. "I have been working late, you know."

"I shall endeavor to keep track of your under things," Severus said. She heard his unfastening buckles. She nipped him playfully on his neck. He groaned and she felt him pushing inside her.

"Gods, it's been too long," Hermione moaned and tilted her head to one side.

"I'll say," Severus said as he sunk his fangs into her neck.

Severus felt Hermione's legs wrap around him. He felt her pulse in his mouth, through her heart beating against his breast, down her legs and through her arms. He didn't draw her blood from her, but let it coarse of its own accord into his mouth. When he felt her blood pressure drop slightly he lifted his head from her neck and licked her wounds. They stopped bleeding. In a few hours they would be gone.

He began to move in and out of her. Her eyes were glazed slightly.

"Goodness, it has been a long time," Severus chuckled down at her. "I remember when you had quite the tolerance built up."

Hermione smiled faintly at him.

"Fuck me," she whispered as she reached a hand through his layers of clothing to get to his bare skin.

"It would be my pleasure, my lady," Severus said as he sucked her bottom lip into his mouth and pricked it with his fangs.


	3. Chapter 3

More Than You and I Chapter 3

Hermione woke up in her double bed and burrowed further under the covers. She was always a little light headed and sore the day after Severus fed. She should have known better than to let him indulge on a weeknight. At least she got to bed early last night.

It's not as if he didn't have other means of nourishment. St. Mungo's supplied him with a potion that acted as a blood substitute.

What would she be doing if she was facing a wailing baby right now? There was no way this could be going on if there was an infant around. There was something she would miss. Lord only knows what the anticoagulant would do to a fetus.

Why, oh why, had she forgotten to take the blood replenishing potion last night? Even if she took one now she'd be light headed all morning.

This 'child idea' would require a lot more thought. A child would be nice, but how good would Severus be as a vampire father. He was impatient and bossy enough as a teacher. Did Hermione want to really subject a poor child to his ranting?

Hermione giggled suddenly at the idea of Severus' logic being thwarted by a 3 year old wearing a hat, socks, and little else.

Ron and Luna had three children. It seemed there was no better humbling an experience than an hour with the young Weasleys girls, ages 7, 4, and 2, respectively.

Hermione lifted her head and looked at her clock. She could lie in bed a little while longer. She relaxed and snuggled further under the white lace covers.

She had become accustomed to her life. She slept alone. At least, after the sun came up. She reasoned quite a few women in the world had husbands that left for work at dawn. She wasn't missing much.

Except it was like having a husband that worked overtime every day. With no hope of vacation.

It was quite an independent life. Children would certainly change everything. She wouldn't be able to be at the beck and call of the Ministry anymore. Some of her research projects would have to be put on hold or given to someone else once the toddler years started. Maybe they would give her a small sub-department.

She mused for a moment about leading an army of researchers to Egypt. Bill and Fleur kept saying she and Severus should visit. It would be educational. For the baby.

Hermione shook her head and threw her covers off. When she stretched, her back crackled.

Baby. They were both mad.

And Neville was mad for bringing it up. What were he and Dennis thinking?

Neville Longbottom, helping Snape create little Snapes.

Hermione entertained a fantasy about using the Time-Turner to tip off her younger self and make some bets with Lee Jordan. Lee had gotten into his father's bookmaking business and was quite successful, from what she heard.

She started at a tap from the window and turned to see a tawny owl pecking at the glass of her bedroom window.

Hermione frowned slightly and went across the room to open her window. Her feet were bare and they made a faint hollow sound on the hardwood floor.

"Barnabas," Hermione said as the owl. "Neville's never up this early. What are you doing here?"

She unlatched the heavy wooden window and pushed it open.

The owl hooted happily as he hopped into the room, waving the scroll tied to one of his legs on every other hop.

"I get it," Hermione sighed as she caught the enthusiastic owl when he lost his balance. She untied the scroll and smiled as the owl made small cooing sounds and tried to snuggle close to her.

"Cold morning?" Hermione mused to the owl as she cracked the seal on the letter.

The owl hooted crossly. Hermione chuckled.

_Hermione,_

_I haven't left the house, but will shortly. Our whole lab will be moving today and I want to make sure no one mucks anything up. The whole thing makes me nervous. I want to see your notes and questions as soon as possible._

_Neville_

Hermione sighed. It was going to be a long day.

&+&+

"So what if people can get pregnant with hollow sperm?" Dennis moaned. They had been discussing the matter for over an hour.

"It's a big problem," Hermione said seriously. "You can breed for generations without interbreeding problems. You can have multiple births with every gestation."

"That would take eons," Dennis said, sounding exasperated.

"Not really," Neville said darkly. He glanced at Hermione. She looked down at her notes. "If they give the babies a growth potion and impregnate them as soon as they're ready you could have a large army in 2 decades."

"But they'll be mentally behind," Dennis exclaimed.

"Not if all you care about is the final generation and not the ones that came before," Hermione said quietly.

A look of horror crept across Dennis' face.

"That's disgusting," Dennis whispered. "What would they do with the others?"

"Spell components, probably," Neville mused.

"Quite," Hermione said brusquely. "The Department of Mysteries is willing to research hollows for you, they'll delegate it to Team C."

"Thank God," Neville muttered under his breath. "Not like we won't have enough to do."

"What we're going to do is observe Muggle and Wizarding DNA in hollow sperm of both Muggles and Wizards," Hermione said, ignoring him.

"What?" Neville said.

"Well, if you took Muggle DNA and put in a Wizard's hollow sperm and it ends up with ag remains ia still made of matter. magical-"

"It couldn't possibly," Dennis interrupted. "All of the original DNA is effectively ripped from the sperm."

"Exactly," Hermione said. "But the shell that remains is still made of matter. It still exists after the purging."

"What do you mean?" Neville asked, taking his glasses off and rubbing his eyes.

"It would prove there is no gene," Hermione said.

"Or that are still things beyond our grasp," Neville chortled cynically.

"Well, it would stop the gene project," Hermione said.

"That would be terribly convenient," Dennis said testily. "Since it seems this would be a more valuable project for the Ministry."

"10 years of research down the drain," Neville said bitterly.

"Oh come on," Hermione said, annoyed. "At least you'd have an answer; you shouldn't have gone into practical research if you expected all your theories to pan out."

"You wouldn't feel that way if it was your project!" Dennis said angrily.

"Oh really?" Hermione said testily. "I supervise all the projects the Ministry decides to undertake. I get to walk away from all of them."

"Good point," Neville said, smirking at her.

"What do you look so smug about?" Hermione asked him.

"Brought it all on yourself, you know," Neville said. Hermione frowned.

"Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic," Dennis mocked. He had a grin plastered to his face.

"Bloody overachiever," Neville teased.

"Bugger off, both of you," Hermione said annoyed, though her ears were pink.

"Either way, Hermione's right," Neville said reluctantly. Dennis shot him a look and he winced. "Well what if there's no gene? Why waste more time?"

Dennis grumbled and looked over the plans for the new lab.

"Well, you're much better funded now," Hermione said. "Think of it that way."

"I suppose that's a point," Dennis said, his eyes still on the plans.

"And we get all sorts of new toys to play with," Neville suggested. Dennis shrugged, but nodded.

"Can Severus come here tonight?" Neville asked, turning from Dennis. "I'd like his opinion on a few things."

"We don't have any plans," Hermione said.

That wasn't quite true. They had spoken briefly about taking a movie in, but they hadn't decided on anything.

"Well, let's adjourn for now," Neville said, rubbing his eyes. "I could go for some tea and we need to finish setting up the lab and copying our notes."

&+&+

Severus peered through the magnifier and frowned.

"Just how did you manage this, Longbottom?" he asked, his voice steady.

Neville paled and turned white. Then he began explaining the gene research program, the methods of research they had been using: the traditional, a few Hermione unconventional methods Hermione had no idea they had been using, and a few that were downright illegal.

"Neville!" Hermione practically shrieked. "That's more than verging on the edge of the Dark Arts! Are you completely mad!"

"It was in the name of research!" Neville thundered. "And I used my own blood, so there were no unwilling participants."

"I can't believe you let him do this, Dennis," Hermione frowned. Dennis winced.

"I recorded everything, Hermione," Dennis said reluctantly. "My notes are quite detailed."

Severus seemed to be sizing up Neville.

Severus shook his head and Hermione saw a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. It was there for a fraction of a second, and then it was gone. He thought this was funny. The ends justify the means. He was slightly proud, though he'd never admit to it.

Hermione found herself just as mad at Severus as she was at Neville. She tried not to fume.

"We told you everything," Neville said, squeakily. "Really."

Hermione felt herself deflate. These weren't bad men, but wasn't that always the way it started? She was still annoyed, but more concerned about what else they were up to.

"Really, Neville," Hermione said. "They're illegal for a reason."

"That's a minor potion at best," Severus said with a wave of his hand. "Although it does take a bit of skill."

Neville blushed. That was the closest thing to a complement he was likely to get.

"It only took six tries," said Dennis, still in a bad mood.

Severus chuckled a bit. "Well, At least you still have your eyebrows; if that one goes awry it can turn to an Ever-Burning Flame."

"Took them 3 weeks to grow back," Dennis said, smirking at Neville.

"Bugger off," Neville snapped. "It finally worked out alright."

"So are we seeding the empties tonight?" Severus asked.

"We better, before they tell us we can't," Neville said quickly.

"When did you start breaking so many rules?" Hermione exploded.

"When I started hanging around you," Neville smirked. "All your fault, you know."

Hermione groaned as Neville plucked a hair from Severus' head. Severus winced.

"Technically, it's not a rule yet and we're exempt from Dark Arts laws now," said Dennis, opening a small vial of brownish liquid. Neville popped the hair into the vial and Dennis walked away, shaking it.

"So, it's your blood?" Hermione said slowly. "Won't that bind you to the child in some way?"

"We think so," said Neville. "But we're not sure how. Ideally, the blood will be supplied by one of the prospective parents. We're not impregnating you with these, so it doesn't matter."

Hermione nodded, then watched as a light pink mist seemed to curl out of the vial. Neville and Dennis walked over to the dish of hollow sperm and began chanting.

Severus stiffened next to her. She wasn't sure this was a good sign. Then there was a red murky glow and the lights seemed to dim slightly.

Abruptly, everything went back to normal.

"OK," Dennis said. "Now to check for auras."

Hermione held her breath as Dennis cast a spell on Severus. He didn't so much glow, but seemed to be surrounded by a clinging shadow. Small gold sparks fired off occasionally.

Neville chanted the same spell over the experiment and began grinning.

"It works."

"Dear Lord." Hermione felt faint. She felt Severus steady her.

"So…" Dennis faltered.

"So…what?" Severus said coldly.

"So if we're going to do this we need a drop of blood from one of you," Neville said sarcastically. "Unless you want to be bound to the Longbottoms. It would make life easy on me. Gran's still bugging me about settling down."

"Not a chance," Severus said flatly.

Hermione held out her wrist.

"We take it through a finger," Dennis said, throwing a look at Severus. Severus tried to look innocent.

Dennis never approved of Severus feeding from Hermione. He thought it was dangerous.

"Well, then take it," Hermione said, flustered. "Before I change my mind."

"You know, if you're not sure," Neville said seriously. "We wouldn't want to push you into anything."

"I want to have my husband's child," Hermione said, still holding out her hand.

"Well then," Neville said, smiling. "Let's see what we can do about that."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"I cannot believe people as smart as you would be involved in such a foolish thing!" Amelia Bones fumed at the three people standing in front of her desk at the Ministry of Magic. She was wearing silk violet robes and her every movement seemed to make the fabric swoop and float. She looked a bit like a mad hippo. "Do you know what you could have done with our reputation!"

"I'm so sorry, Minister-" Dennis Creevy started.

It was three months after Neville and Dennis' discovery and all their means of research had been exposed to the Ministry. They were still on the project, but had to appear before the Minister for a formal, confidential, reprimand.

"Apology not accepted! You were doing these experiments in a nearly unsecured location, your notes aren't even encoded, anyone could have stumbled upon this!"

"We did let the Ministry know as soon as we had something." Neville stated firmly. "Before then everything was just speculation."

"If you need clearance for a 'theory' you ask for it!" The Minister fumed. Her violet robes ballooned around her as she paced. "You don't just break the law out where everyone can see and ask for forgiveness later! You get a petition like a reasonable researcher!"

"Yes, Minister." Dennis said quickly. Although Neville was more aggressive in his arguments now rather than when they were in school, he always seemed to pick the wrong fights.

Neville puffed out his cheeks. Hermione knew he was biting his tongue.

Hermione picked at a knot on the front of her robes. She was being reprimanded as well, but for something completely different.

"And you!" The Minister rounded on Hermione. She had been waiting for this. "Just jumping into the experiment like some type of Muggle lab specimen! Are you completely mad!"

Hermione wasn't expecting that. She also wasn't expecting to burst into tears.

"For heavens sake!" Madame Bones said exasperatedly. She looked at Neville and Dennis sharply. "You two! Out!"

The men didn't have to be told twice and quickly scuttled from the room.

"I'm so sorry." Hermione tried to compose herself. She pulled a handkerchief from the sleeve of the robes and mopped at her face. "I don't know what I was thinking. Highly dangerous."

"I know exactly what you were thinking." Madame Bones shook her head at Hermione. "You were thinking of having Severus' child."

"I'm sorry." Hermione shook her head and blew her nose. "Completely irresponsible."

"Well, since we're in agreement," Madame Bones reached into her desk and brought out a tin of biscuits. "Congratulations, dear. I know you must have wanted this for a long time."

Hermione let a few more tears of relief slip from her eyes. "You have no idea."

She selected a chocolate biscuit and let out a nervous laugh as a tea pot floated towards them. The minister sat back down at her desk and motioned Hermione to sit opposite her in a brown leather chair.

"Will you be leaving us?" Madame Bones looked serious. "We will miss you terribly if you decide to go."

"I sincerely hope not." Hermione took the cup of tea now floating in front of her. "But it's not like Severus could watch the baby during the day."

"He could if you had your windows magically shielded from vitamin D." Madame Bones looked at Hermione seriously.

"I- hadn't thought of that." Hermione looked at her cup of tea thoughtfully.

The Wizarding World had made leaps and bounds in the realm of research since the Unification of Magical Peoples and they had learned much about vampires. Their reaction to the sun seemed to stem from intolerance to vitamin D, and not from the light of the sun itself.

"We'd also like to bring Severus in as one of our subjects on a test of D blockers. He's an ideal candidate and if it works he'll be far more help to you."

"I think he may be quite interested." Hermione nibbled on her biscuit.

"We'll have him owled by this evening."

&+&+

Hermione bustled around the wooden table in her kitchen. Severus' potion was laid out for the evening. A squat ceramic coffee cup sat near the potions bottle. A wide cork stoppered it.

She checked on her supper in the oven and looked outside at the darkening sky. He would be another half hour at least.

Hermione looked at the coffee cup as if it offended her and put a preservation spell on it. Then she walked to Severus' bookshelf and selected a book entitled: _18th Century Vampire Clans by Sir Rupert Aimsworth. _

She was just reading about the alliance made between the Gormear and Luxis clans when she heard the cellar door creak open.

"Severus?" She called out tentatively.

"The smell of your dinner churns my stomach. It should taste wonderful."

Hermione snorted as she closed her book. Severus often cooked for her out of courtesy, occasionally taking a bit of raw meat in, but he never ate proper food anymore.

Hermione rose and walked into her kitchen.

Severus was already reading his letter from the Ministry. "Seems they have a use for me. Anything to do with you?"

"I certainly don't know what you mean," Hermione said brusquely. She often told Severus he should at least be involved in a project or two to keep himself busy.

"Still, it seems like an interesting opportunity," Severus said, talking himself into the Ministry's project.

"I'm pregnant." Hermione blurted out.

"Just a conformation of what we already knew," Severus looked at her with one eyebrow quirked. "Let me guess. This project will put me into the Ministry and nearer to you while you're going through this experiment at having a child."

"No, but that's not a half bad idea."

Severus scowled at her. His eyes flickered to her mid section and he raised the parchment from the Ministry in front of his face before she saw the smug look he was giving her. He failed.

Hermione ripped the paper from in front of his face.

"You're entirely too pleased with yourself."

"I have nothing to be pleased about." Severus said innocently. "Longbottom gained the information, preformed the spell, programmed the genetic material, and implanted it. All I did, quite honestly, was show up."

"And give a drop of blood." Hermione grinned.

"And give a drop of blood."

"Speaking of which, there's the last of mine you're going to get for awhile." Hermione nodded at the stoppered cup on the table.

"How thoughtful of you." Severus remarked as he reached for his nightly potion. "I'll have it for dessert."

Hermione smiled and waved her wand at the oven. A casserole dish floated out of the oven and settled on the table. Severus frowned and waved his wand at her cooling dinner. Several vegetables appeared alongside her chicken and potatoes. She frowned at him.

"Your health is even more important than usual," Severus said simply, knowing she couldn't argue. "Now, eat your peas."

Hermione made a face at him and pointed her wand at her dinner. The steam stopped pouring off the food as she reached for a glass and filled it with water.

Severus threw his head back and made a bitter face as he swallowed his potion.

"Is it that horrible?" Hermione always felt a slight pang of guilt that she couldn't take care of him completely. He told her she was ridiculous, of course, but she still felt like she could come up with something better than a foul tasting potion.

"I'm sure dessert should make up for it." Severus unstoppered the cup with a grin and took a deep drink. When he took the cup away from his face he had a blood mustache. Hermione made a face at him.

"Do you have to do that at the table?"

"You don't see me retching at the smell of dead cooked flesh, do you?" He wiped his mouth with a pink napkin with tiny daisies on it.

"Fair enough." Hermione took a mouthful of her chicken and sighed.

"Just brush your teeth before you kiss me."

&+&+

Severus walked into his study after Hermione retired for the evening . He was still sipping on the last drops from the cup Hermione had prepared for him. Next time she'd have to be quicker with the preservation spell. The blood tasted slightly dead.


	5. Chapter 5

AN: I swear to God, I started this and plotted it out before Twilight was published.

**More Than You and I – Chapter 5**

Hermione's eyelids fluttered open. Her eyes went to the other side of the bed and sighed at the empty space.

He stayed with her until the dawn most of the time, his cold hand against her lower back like an organic ice pack. His fingers stroking her and working out the knots in her shoulders and legs as her body changed shape as her pregnancy went on.

To Severus' delight, Neville had to draw blood from Hermione once a week and after he was done with his testing, there was still a small amount left over that was fit for consumption. Severus didn't have to go cold turkey after all. He still complained about their lack of experience with preservation spells, but since magic didn't quite work the same for him anymore he couldn't preform the spells himself.

The Minister had asked Hermione and Severus about turning their home into the first experimental vampire-friendly home in Europe and they had reluctantly agreed to have their windows coated. A representative from the Department of Mysteries came by once a week to test the windows and to take readings from different parts of the house. Severus went into the Ministry for testing once a week, as was Hermione.

He still slept for most of the day, saying the sunlight that came through the windows still made him itchy. He emerged from his sleeping place in the basement in the early evening these days, usually waiting in his favorite chair, reading a book when Hermione arrived home from work.

Hermione had nearly lost it when the Minister had put her on strictly regulated work hours, but Severus had pointed out that it gave her the time she had always wanted to work on her independent research and she had reluctantly conceided. Her days still started early, but she was now out of the office by 4PM.

She shifted her weight uncomfortably and sat up in bed, sliding her legs over so her feet could rest on the ground. She stood and her hands smoothed over her belly, encased in her long, white satin nightgown, wondering when she would become more pronounced.

She sniffed the air and she smiled gently in recognition. Severus had been thoughtful enough to have started the coffee maker before he had retired for the morning. She was being very careful with what she ate and drank, but she still allowed herself a cup of coffee in the morning. Neville had practically insisted on it.

As she got closer to the kitchen the deep, rich smell grew stronger. Hermione started to feel queasy.

_Oh no! Not coffee! Please, oh please, God, don't let coffee be one of the things that set off--_

Hermione felt the bile rising in the back of her throat as she ran to the bathroom and practically slid across the tile on her way to the toilet.

She vomited violently into the bowl. When she was done retching, she rested her head on the cold seat for a moment. Her eyes fluttered open and when she caught sight of what was in the bowl her face went white.

-=-

"I can't find anything wrong." A white-haired Ministry healer with large, kind, brown eyes took the plugs from the Aura Examiner out of his ears and set the device, while looked so much as a large copper coil, onto the examining table next to her.

Hermione was in a small, tucked away part of the Ministry, deep underground. Discreet for taking on touchy medical situations, like hers.

"Bloody vomit can't be normal," Hermione insisted, casting a look at the other faces in the room.

Neville stood there, shaking his head, Dennis at his side looking just as bewildered. A ginger-haired witch from the Department of Mysteries had a small box with two wire prongs sticking out of it aimed at her. She shrugged before tucking it back into her robes.

"Well, this is the first time we've done anything like this before," Neville squirmed uncomfortably. "It might be normal, for all we know."

"We'll watch it," the healer said, giving Hermione a reassuring look. "If you feel strange let us know."

"I always feel strange," Hermione said grumpily. "I've never done this before. I don't know what being pregnant is supposed to feel like." She glared at Neville.

"Well, don't look at me! I've never been pregnant, either!" Neville blurted out.

They all snickered at him. Well, all except for Hermione who made a face at him.

"Just keep Longbottom informed of any other changes." The healer smiled at Hermione as he flipped a folder shut and reached for the door. "For the next two weeks we're going to want you to come in twice a week."

Hermione groaned as he left with the witch from the Department of Mysteries.

"Hey, you're the one that decided to go along with this," Dennis chuckled.

"I know," Hermione sighed as she hopped off the table. "I know. I just didn't think it was going to be this tiring."

"This is nothing compared to what it's going to be like having a little one around," Dennis snorted.

Hermione looked glum. "I suppose I can always say I felt the Ministry for a life of independent research."

"Don't let it get you down," Neville scoffed at her as she hopped off the table and they made their way to the nearest elevator. "Even if you worked from home I don't see you as one of those witches that's so disorganized she can't find the diaper pail. You'll be fine."

Hermione paled slightly and her pace hesitated.

"Are you feeling all right?" Neville looked alarmed.

"I forgot about the diaper pail. I have to get one."

Dennis burst out laughing as Neville chuckled and shook his head at Hermione. "I think you have enough time for that."

Hermione grinned. "I know. I just want everything to be..."

"Perfect?" Neville offered with a raised eyebrow.

"I'll settle for 'ready.'" Hermione snickered.

They arrived at the elevators and Neville punched the red button on the wall. "Well, you can try, but I don't ever think anyone's ever truly ready."

-=-

Severus woke early and forced himself to take a deep breath. He didn't need to, but he had an unnecessary fear of dust settling in his sinuses and felt he should clear them out every day.

He opened the top to his coffin and scowled at the light. His eyes went to the shelf of canned food and saw that things had been moved.

_I know magic doesn't cost anything, but she could at least turn the lights back down after rustling around for a tin of beans._

He glared at the lights and they dimmed again.

He pulled his naked form out of his coffin and reached for the small green tube on a shelf nearby. He squeezed some of the white paste from the tube into his hands and began to rub them together.

As the paste seemed to start to double and triple in amount, he started slathering it over his chest, down his legs, over his arms and face. The only spot he couldn't really get was his back, but he usually wore something so it really didn't matter.

He dressed quickly in black robes before heading upstairs, his feet making heavy noises on the stairs.

He pushed on the panel to open the basement door and flinched as it opened. It never failed to startle him when the light hit him as the door opened, but he supposed he would get used to it.

His skin began to tingle and he scowled. It was always an itchy transition, although as the sun went down properly, it abated.

He snorted as he looked in the kitchen sink. You'd think she would have at least rinsed the coffee pot out before leaving for work.

He frowned as he noticed there was no cup near the pot.

He looked around the kitchen, but nothing looked amiss. He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. Then he frowned.

He walked to the bathroom. The rug was slightly askew and the seat was up.

He could understand Hermione being sick, but why did he smell blood?

Well, it wasn't important enough to leave a note about, so Severus assumed everything had turned out all right.

He went to the kitchen and began preparing a meal for her: brown rice and steamed vegetables with a protein potion drizzled over it.

He knew she preferred meat, but he hated the smell and refused to cook it for her. If she wanted any, she could add it herself when she got home.

As it was finishing up, he heard a wooshing sound from the next room and knew Hermione had arrived home.

She walked into the kitchen and took a deep breath. "I'm starving."

"Beans didn't do it for you?" Severus asked sarcastically.

"I didn't hardly get to eat any." Hermione pouted. "The examination ran over and I had so much work to catch up on I had to try to eat as I worked."

"You weren't schedualed for an examination today." Severus frowned.

"I know." Hermione walked over to the pot on the stove and peeked in. "My morning sick was strange so I went to get it checked out."

"How so?" Severus asked as he shooed her away from the stove and made her sit down at the table.

"There was blood in it."

Severus turned around quickly to face her. "I smelled it, but I didn't think the smells were meant to go together. Are you all right?"

"So far, so good." Hermione shrugged. "Why were you breathing?"

"I noticed there was no cup near the coffee pot and I was wondering if anything in the house was amiss." Severus started scooping rice into a glass bowl. "I always use smell after sight and hearing." He lifted the lid off a steamer and started piling vegetables on top of the rice. "If you want meat, you're going to have to cook it yourself."

"I'm fine." Hermione gave him a small smile as she watched him pour the protein potion over the food. It was thick and a glossy brown.

"I think I have the teriyaki flavoring down," Severus said with a small smirk.

"Thanks," Hermione sighed as he put the bowl down in front of her. He handed her a fork and she took a bite. "This is excellent!"

"It should be," Severus snorted. "I made it."

Hermione tried not to choke as she forced a laugh down. "Of course, dear."


End file.
